Good to Great, by Jim Collins

Book recommended at the NZPF Conference in 2015, by Michael Fullan.

Not written from an educational leadership perspective, but from a business leadership perspective.

Scientific analysis of companies who, at some point in their history, made sudden and continued gains in income - with similar companies who did not grow, but carried on as is, or died. What did the successful companies do that made the difference?

What can cross over to Educational Leadership?
  • Level 5 leaders - Not out for personal gain, but what is best for the company. Fanatically driven, with an incurable desire for results. More plow-horse than show pony. Humility + will = Level 5. More often found within the company, than brought in from outside. In education, leaders who are fanatically driven to focus on what is best for the children. Passionate about education, but disinterested in personal gain. or kudos. 

  • First Who, then what - The importance of finding the right people, who are passionate about what they do - and giving them the mandate to lead and grow the vision. As opposed to building the vision, then making people fit. When in doubt, don't hire - keep looking. When you know you need to make a people-change, then act. Put your best people on your biggest opportunities.  In education, recruit great teachers / support staff. How can great people be given key roles? How can they be given big opportunities? Good to great management teams consist of people who debate vigorously.

  • Confront the brutal facts - what isn't working? how do we know? what can we do? Honest, diligent effort to uncover the truth. Lead with questions, not answers. Conduct autopsies without blame. Build red flag mechanisms that turn information into information that cannot be ignored. In education - reviewing practice, based on evidence. What constitutes evidence? what do we see as success for children? what are we not doing well? Who is falling behind? How can we track effectively so that we know if what we are doing is working for children?

  • Hedgehog Concept - what are you deeply passionate about? what drives your economic engine? What can you be the best in the world at, and what can't you be the best at - concentrate on the former, rather than what you want to be good at. Set goals and strategies based on understanding - rather than based on bravado. Simplicity - hedgehogs are really good at one thing and stick to it - rather than being like foxes, sly and trying to be good at lots of things - but lacking consistency. It took good to great companies about four years to get a hedgehog concept to concentrate on. In education - what do we know is working for our children? what strategies are making a difference? Rather than competing with the school down the road - identify point of difference and become really good at it.

  • A Culture of Discipline - allowing for freedom and responsibility within a framework. Hire self-disciplined people who don't need to be managed, then manage the system rather than the people. Rinsing the cottage cheese - getting rid of what isn't needed, in the way of perks and privileges for executives. working under the same conditions as others within the company. Building a culture of discipline that will endure beyond the leader - if the leader left, discipline would continue.  In education - allow for creativity and choice within the constraint of what is effective practice / the vision of the school. Teaching as inquiry - challenges teachers to innovate, based on experience, research, results. Leaders taking a share of the load - getting involved.


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